


Don't you know? (He's my now and Forever)

by bokayjunkie



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, during road trip adventures, set post S3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6488779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokayjunkie/pseuds/bokayjunkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During their road trip across America, Felicity runs into someone from her past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't you know? (He's my now and Forever)

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I wrote last year during the summer hiatus. I never intended to do anything with it, so it was left unfinished for so long. After going through all my old stories that I've written, I thought this one had potential so I finished it.
> 
> Post s3 - during Oliver and Felicity's get away and before they took their travels overseas. In my headcannon, Ray's 'death' didn't happen until sometime in the middle of the summer, so Felicity's not CEO and Starling City hasn't been renamed yet.

“Felicity?”

Hearing her name, Felicity looked up from her tablet where she was sending information to Laurel.

An internal alarm went off in her head, a habit she picked up being around Oliver for the past three years. It was justified considering she was in a small town in the middle of California where the only person who knows her is her travel companion.

The person saying her name is definitely not him.

Upon looking up, it took a second for Felicity to register him. Once the recognition kicked in, her eyes widened

“Daniel?” she said in disbelief. A smile formed on her face as the man, Daniel, approached her.

Felicity welcomed him with an embrace. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s you,” she said as they pulled apart. “How long has it been?”

Daniel shrugged humbly. “Two, three years I think?”

“Yeah…” Felicity trailed off for a few seconds thinking back to the last time they had seen each other.

It wasn’t pleasant.

She immediately shook away the memory and smiled at the man. So much has changed since then; harboring any grudge for something so stupid was ridiculous.

“How have you been?” She asked with genuine curiosity as she put her tablet back in her purse.

“I’ve been good. I’m actually working for News Report Now.”

“I saw that, congratulations!” She said sincerely. It may not be CNN or MSNBC, but it was still a step up from Starling News. “I know how hard you worked for that.”

“Thanks.” He said sheepishly. “That’s actually why I’m here now. There was a train crash a couple miles from here. This was the closest town with available lodging.”

“Oh my god, that’s horrible.” Felicity’s eyes widened. “How bad is it?”

“Not too many casualties.” He assured. “It was a cargo train that tumbled over.”

“Oh.” She said. “Well, that’s good then. At least, no one got hurt.”

Daniel smiled, nodding at her words. “So what about you? What brings you to Wine Country? This town isn’t exactly a big spot on the map.”

“No, it isn’t.” Felicity said with a serene smile as she looked around the charming town. “I saw it on my GPS during the drive and thought it would be a good place to stop for a while.”

“Oh, are you on a road trip with some of your friends? Where are you guys headed to?”

“Um…not exactly.” She says vaguely. She knew there was no reason for her to be hesitant in telling him the truth, but there was still something awkward about it. “We’re just driving wherever the road takes us. And right now, this hidden town is looking really appealing for us.”

Daniel was taken aback at the response. He looked at Felicity in surprise, especially the blasé way she spoke about her travels. “So…no destination at all?”

“Nope.” She said so surely but with a content smile on her face.

Daniel studied her again. Felicity certainly has changed quite a lot since the last time he saw her. Gone was the timid and awkward IT gremlin as she often called herself and now, in front of him, is a self-assured and content looking woman. She looked so one with herself and genuinely happy.

Daniel thought he had seen Felicity happy before; whenever a new computer model came out, when she got her promotion, or even the release of the Avengers movie. This Felicity, however, is a whole other level. Whatever she had been doing for the past three or so years since he last saw her, it’s obviously been working well for her.

“Wait a minute, are you saying you, Felicity Smoak, are on vacation?”

Felicity let out a chuckle. “Kind of.”

“Wow, the years certainly have done wonders to you.”

“Hmm,” she shrugged although Daniel took it as a humble gesture.

“When are you going back to work? I heard Queen Consolidated was bought out and turned to Palmer Technologies. That's where you work, right?”

“Well…I was…” Felicity skirted around the topic.

“What do you mean you were?”

“I don’t technically work at Palmer Technologies. Actually, I don’t work for anyone. I quit.”

“You quit?” he said, sounding harsher than intended. He can immediately see Felicity shifting in a defensive stance.

“Yeah, I did.” She said in a defiant tone that told him she was ready to argue.

“But–” then he stopped himself. He was ready to start a lecture about the importance of her career but Felicity continued to look at him, almost challenging him to finish his thoughts.

“What happened?” he asked, careful to keep his voice free of judgment.

Felicity put on a smile, although not as genuine as before. “I just needed the break.” She said as though it were that simple.

Daniel tried to wrap his head around her explanation. The calm, nonchalant way she answered that left him baffled. “A…break?”

“Yeah.” Felicity continued in an unworried tone. “It’s just been a …hectic couple of years. This is something to get away from it all.”

“And you couldn’t have just gone with a vacation?” he tried not to sound too scolding but Felicity could hear it either way.

“Nope.” Felicity said, not at all phased.

“But...your career.” He said almost helplessly.

And there it was.

Felicity knew exactly where his thoughts were going. She knew how much she had changed since the last time she saw Daniel but it seemed like he hadn’t. Daniel had always been ambitious. Throughout their relationship, he had been so focused on his goals of being a well-known news anchor and journalist. She admired his hard-working stance; it was one of the reasons she fell for him.

“My career’s always going to be there, Daniel.” Felicity shrugged. “But right now, I just needed to do something for me.”

Daniel continued to look at Felicity trying to process her words. It was clear that it wasn’t just the physical appearance that had changed in Felicity, but everything else as well. One of the many things that drew him to her, other than her intelligence, was her passion and pride for what she did.

Much like him, she had worked hard to get away from the life most people thought she would end up in. He knew how hard she had worked to set herself apart from the life she had in Vegas, to have a different life than her mothers. It was something he admired about her. Now, hearing that Felicity just up and quit a very lucrative job position (he has also kept tabs on her, especially when her name gets mentioned quite often in the news in the past year) it was like the Felicity he knew was abducted and replaced with this pod Felicity.

Daniel was about to try and get more information from her, maybe put some sense into her, when someone else had joined them.

“Hey, they didn’t have the vanilla one that you like, but they did have pumpkin spice.” Oliver Queen appeared from behind Felicity holding up a to-go coffee cup.

Felicity greeted him with a beaming smile, matching the one he was wearing as he looked at her.

“Ooooh!” Felicity said with an excited sparkle in her eyes. “I didn’t even know pumpkin spice was in season.” She said joyously, taking the drink from him.

“Well, apparently this café is year round.”

“A definite score for Wine Country.” Felicity murmured, taking a sip of her drink. “Mmmhh.” She let out a satisfied moan. “Man, remember that café because we will be going back there again.”

“Noted.” The smile on Oliver’s face was blinding as he continued to watch Felicity enjoy her drink.

He was about to take a sip of his own when Daniel’s presence caught his eye. Oliver’s smile then dropped to a scowl, turning to look at Daniel sharply.

Daniel couldn’t help but take a step back at the stare down. No matter what he had read about Oliver Queen, the man is intimidating. His steely glare was proof enough. He looked as though he could break his neck with a finger. And, if all the reports he’s read on him upon his studies during his first year back, it was probably true.

“Oh, Oliver,” Felicity suddenly spoke, seeing Oliver noting Daniel’s presence. “This is Daniel he’s an old….” There was a moment of contemplation as to what to refer to him. Ex is the accurate term, and should have been used to refer to Daniel, but her encounter with him had already turned sour she didn’t want to add any more to the tension.

“Friend of mine.” Felicity said with thinned smile. She avoided looking at Daniel and looked at Oliver instead.

Oliver looked at Felicity, his face calculating. He could tell there was more to this Daniel than just an old friend of her. But when he Felicity’s face, how she wanted to move on from the topic, he gave a short nod and looked back at Daniel.

“Hi.” He said courteously.

Daniel gave him a timid smile. “Hello. Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually meeting the famous Oliver Queen.”

Oliver gave him a thinned smile in return. He could already tell he didn’t like the guy.

“I didn’t know you two were so close.” Daniel said to Felicity.

“That tends to happen when you spend every single day with someone for the past three years.” Felicity just said with intent and without explanation.

“Oh?” Daniel knew that Felicity had formed some kind of acquaintanceship with Oliver Queen after they broke up. He was even aware that she had probably been a constant help during his time a CEO for Queen Consolidated. He didn’t really care to investigate it more closely, mainly because he had started a new job in Central City and any news on Starling wasn’t that important. Also considering the reason for their breakup, he didn’t want a constant reminder of whatever friendship they were forming.

“And I see he’s joined you in this little getaway of yours.” Daniel added, trying to be light in his tone, trying not to provoke Felicity again. Especially not with Oliver Queen standing next to her who is still looking at him in a guarded way. He wasn't necessarily menacing but he could tell that upsetting Felicity further could set the man off.

“I think if anyone deserves the luxury of escaping Starling City it’s Oliver.” Felicity replied so fluidly and without any hesitation. It was as though she was prepared for a battle of wits, which is a far cry from the babbling computer expert Daniel knew three years ago. “Besides, there’s no one I would want to share this adventure with other than him.”

Her voice had gone soft and her face had relaxed as she looked at Oliver once more. Her body moved closer to his, her hand finding his and they immediately latched on to each other. At the touch, Oliver tore his glare away from Daniel and his face grew soft to match Felicity’s adoring gaze when he looked back at her.

It was clear that there was more than friendship between Oliver and Felicity. As much as Daniel wanted to prod the two about the whole ordeal, including the events of this past year where Oliver’s name was mentioned, he also knew when to back down.

The two were completely in their own world as they continued to gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes. It was something that reminded Daniel of those cheesy romantic comedies he had seen, one he never knew really existed outside of fiction. Clearly he was wrong. He felt a tinge of jealousy and regret in the pit of his stomach. In all the years he and Felicity had been together, never had they shared a moment as intimate and romantic as the one she was currently sharing with Oliver.

However this only proves his suspicions about whatever situation Felicity had gotten herself into. He wanted to scream and pretty much smack Felicity in the head. There was no doubt this whole abandoning career move had something to do with Oliver. He had a reputation even after he got back from the island. What Daniel thought that effect Oliver would have on Felicity would be just a crush (which it looked like he was right about) had spread to an obviously bad influence of the infamous Oliver Queen.

What baffled Daniel that for someone who was so headstrong as Felicity Smoak, who vowed to never be swayed by a man like her mother, had been completely swayed by Oliver Queen. There was no doubt that there was complete adoration in Oliver’s eyes, but he also knew the kind of guy that Oliver Queen is.

Be that as it may, no matter how much Daniel wants to pull Felicity out of her Queen Trance, he knew he couldn’t. One, Felicity looked too far gone in the Oliver Queen Love Potion to appreciate his gesture. Second, Oliver Queen could definitely snap his body in half.

“Ahem.” Daniel cleared his throat, snapping the love birds out of their eye gazing.

Felicity turned to look at him, a faint blush rose on her cheeks. No matter what strong exterior she puts to the outside world, especially when she becomes defiant to those close minded people who only see Oliver as the man he had been before, she can never help herself from completely melting whenever he looked at her. Those eyes of his that conveyed so much love; it never fails to make her forget about everything else in the world.

“It was really great seeing you, Felicity.” Daniel said, his tone short and to the point.

The purse of his lips told Felicity he disapproved more than just their display of affection, to which she challenged him back with a quirk of a brow.

“You too, Daniel.” She said in an equally short tone, her whole demeanor changing. Oliver felt the shift in her body and his hand circled around her waist, turning to look back at Daniel with the scowl he always donned on when not looking at Felicity.

“I uh…” he said, his eyes straying to Oliver, trying not to cower at his glare, then looked back at Felicity full of sympathy. “I hope things work out for you,” he said and he knew she understood the meaning of his words.

Felicity pursed her lips, her whole demeanor is not backing down from his jab. “They’re already working out pretty well.” She said surely. She slipped her arm around Oliver’s waist, pulling him even closer to her as she relaxed against his side. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in my life.”

The sheer conviction of how she said that took Daniel aback. It was clear that Felicity knew what he had been trying to convey and his disappointment of her current choices. It was also clear she didn’t care about his thoughts. He didn’t want to think it was her way of showing defiance due to the nature of how they broke up, but he couldn’t see Felicity ever being that petty or immature. Then again, it was clear this isn’t the Felicity he once knew.

With a relented sigh, Daniel gave her a nod and walked away.

 

* * *

 

Oliver and Felicity watched Daniel walking away from them. Once he was lost in the crowd, she let out a pleased sigh. She turned her head to give a nuzzle on his shoulder before propping her chin on it to look at Oliver. He looked down at her, his features softening and a small smile on his lips.

“What?” he asked softly.

“Nothing.” She smiled at him. “I’m just happy with my life right now.”

The grin on his face grew and he leaned closer for a soft kiss. The kiss lingered for a moment. They didn’t make a move to deepen it as they usually would. This was just a kiss they wanted to share, something to connect them and sate them for the time being.

Their faces pulled back, their smile was still present. Their faces were just inches apart, lingering in their own atmosphere.

“Let’s go back to our room.” he said softly.

“I like the sound of that.” She replied back, pulling away.

She kept her hand clasped in his as they started to walk back to the direction of the Inn they're staying at. They continued to walk in comfortable silence, drinking their drinks along the way, for a while before they spoke up again.

“So who was that guy?” Oliver asked, keeping his voice nonchalant.

“That was just Daniel.” She said softly. “I told you, an old friend.”

“Hm…” he said and waited for another second. He took a long sip of his drink before dropping it in a trash bin as they passed. Felicity did the same with hers.

“He didn’t seem that way to me.” He said. “He seemed like he was more than just a friend.”

This prompted for Felicity to stop and look at him. His tone wasn’t accusatory but it was an invitation for her to explain. Feeling her stare, he turned his head to look back at her.

“He’s an ex-boyfriend.” She said without breaking eye contact to let him know she wasn’t hiding anything from him.

He nodded, his face was not showing any kind of reaction. “I figured. He seemed too familiar with you to be just a friend.”

“You were familiar with me when we were just friends.”

A soft smile then graced his lips. “That’s because I was in love with you.”

Felicity couldn’t help the blush on her cheeks. It still sent a thrill through her no matter how many times they’ve exchanged the words.

“I wasn’t trying to hide it or anything.” She said looking ahead as they continued to walk. “It’s just…our conversation before you arrived got a bit…awkward. I didn’t want to add on to it more especially since he probably figured it out immediately we're togther.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned him before.”

“I don’t mention every guy I’ve dated, Oliver.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, I didn’t even know you when Daniel and I started dating.”

“I guess not.” He said. “Although I didn’t think you were the dating type. I thought you were the relationship kind of girl.”

“I am a relationship kind of girl.” She said. “But Daniel and I did date a little bit in the beginning; of course, we were getting to know each other. I’m not exactly the type of person who just jumps into a relationship with somebody.” Then she paused and looked at Oliver with a grin. “Well, …at least I wasn’t before.”

He grinned back at her and the two shared another moment as they looked at each other. It still sent a thrill to them that they're together now.

“I guess you’re just breaking all of my rules, Mr. Queen.”

“Only fair since you’re breaking all of mine, Miss Smoak.” He flirted back.

They continued to stroll for a couple of minutes of silence before Oliver spoke again. “So were you and Daniel together when we met?”

“Yes.”

Felicity could practically feel a shift in Oliver’s body when she answered. He tried to remain casual about it but she knew he was unsettled by this information. She can see that his stance starting to shuffle as he tried to keep his pace even and she can feel his hand clasped in hers trying not to clench.

“Oh.” He said, trying not to react too much. “You never told me you were seeing someone back then.”

“We weren’t exactly close, you know.” She said gently, squeezing his hand, pulling him closer to her. “You never even expressed any kind of interest in me when you were dropping by with your ridiculous lies, which I appreciate by the way. The lies, as horrible as they were, I could get by, but you trying to lead me on wouldn’t have been okay for me.”

“I wouldn’t have been leading you on.” He said defensively, looking at her. “You know I liked you back then.”

She grinned at him, not even ashamed at the giddiness spreading in her body.

“I definitely had a crush on you.” Oliver continued. “Just ask Dig, he will gladly tell you at how stupid I was for finding any excuse to go see you.”

Felicity let out a laugh. “Well even so, you never gave me a reason to say ‘Back off buddy, I have a boyfriend.’” She said. “And then when I joined the team, Daniel and I had broken up already.”

“Huh.” He said, contemplatively.

Oliver tried to remember back to that time, to when he had first met Felicity. He guesses he never did give her a reason to be defensive; he never made any kind of advance like that. He flirted with her, yes, but they were innocent that didn’t really translate to anything. He was glad he never went that far with her when he was trying to charm her into helping him gather information. He’d like to think he had matured enough to not have to do that regardless of who he had been trying to charm, but he also knew he had a one-track mind back then. That being to save his city.

“I’m sorry that you were going through that.” Oliver said quietly. “I wish I would have known back then so I wasn’t too hard on you.”

She let out a chuckle. “It’s fine, Oliver.” She assured. “Besides, dealing with your stubbornness was just the distraction I needed back then.”

He grinned at that. His mind flashed back to Felicity’s first week after joining the team. It was a moment that he always thought back to on occasion.

Oliver had been fired up and ready to go hunt for another name on the list; Felicity had practically locked him in the foundry. When he tried to intimidate her, she had literally stood up to him and refused to just comply with his every demand and walked out. He was so shocked and the look of pride and amusement on Diggle’s face did not help him understand what had just happened.

Memories like that only made Oliver fall in love with her more. “Glad I was of help.”

Felicity chuckled at his smile. She always loved it whenever he smiled, especially when his dimples came out. She’s also really happy that it’s becoming such a common sight for her these past two months.

“When did you two break up?” he asked, gently. “I saw you often before you joined the team and you never looked like you were…”

“Heartbroken?”

“Well…yeah.” He said. “I mean, I know we weren’t that close at the time, but I’d like to think I would have noticed if you were upset.”

She smiled softly at that. “We broke up just before Christmas that year.” She said. “And I wasn’t really that heartbroken about it. Besides, the project Walter had me working on also got me distracted. And then you came along and…everything that had to do with Daniel just went away.”

He smiled at that. As selfish as it sounded, the thought that he had made an impact in her life that left her forgetting her past, especially past romance, pleased him. He didn’t like that he thought that way, and he knew if Felicity found out she would reprimand him for being a possessive caveman, but he didn’t care.

He’s finally with Felicity now, everything else didn’t matter.

“I’m still sorry you went through that. I hate the thought of you being hurt.” He said even though he was glad that Daniel guy isn’t in her life anymore. “How long were you two together?”

“A while.” She said. “Actually…he’s the longest boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

That halted Oliver in his track. He pulled away and looked at her questioningly as he tried not to grow tense. All the feelings of his elation had immediately washed away as her words repeated.

The longest boyfriend she’d ever had? What did that mean?

Felicity had been a bit distracted in her thoughts to notice Oliver’s rigid state but looked up when she noticed that they had stopped walking. She saw his expression urging for her to explain.

She let out a sigh. “Daniel and I started seeing each other a couple months after I had moved to Starling.” She started. “He was the first person I felt myself opening up to after Cooper. We were together for a very long time now that I think about it. We were together for almost three years, longer than I was with Cooper and…well obviously longer than you and I have been dating _officially_.” She added the last part with emphasis. Despite the fact that their relationship started just recently when they had driven off into the sunset, their commitment to each other had started way before that.

“It’s kind of funny, for the longest time…” she continued. “I thought Daniel was it.”

She felt his hand still on hers and she immediately squeezed it.

“After Cooper, I didn’t think I could ever…be with someone again. I wasn’t interested in it because I didn’t want to feel that heartache again. I was traumatized from the whole thing and I thought I was just destined to be alone.” She shrugged.

At her heart-wrenching admission, it was Oliver who squeezed her hand this time.

“But then I met Daniel and I felt open to being with someone again. So we started going out and I was comfortable with him. We both liked a lot of the same things and we both had this drive to have a better life, especially in our careers. We became an official couple and I thought I couldn’t have a better relationship that I had with him.”

Oliver had kept his expression blank as he continued to listen to Felicity but she could see the reaction in his eyes. She knew he was trying to hold back the possessiveness he felt when she kept mentioning about being with another man.

“It was kind of a perfect situation we had going on.” she said. “Especially for an IT girl who just wanted a nice, quiet life…well at the time.” She added with a smirk. “He was a reporter and a corresponding journalist so he was out of town a lot, which was okay for me because I liked my space. He would be out of town for a week or two, I’d get to live my own life, then when I start missing him he’s back. By the time I get tired of having him around, he’s out on another assignment. It was a routine, one we liked and one I thought I was very okay with living for the rest of my life. I had always thought that was it; that was how my life was going to be from now on. Me going to a nine to five job getting to have the luxury of a boyfriend yet still be on my own. It was easy.”

“What happened?” he asked softly, squeezing her hand in assurance.

She looked at him with a small smile. “Daniel is…very ambitious.” She said. “He always dreamed of becoming a big time journalist. He had been restless to find that award-winning story and when you came back…”

Her lips pursed at the memory. “It was all Daniel could talk about. He said everyone was vying for the opportunity to interview you. A tell all of what you went through, but you refused every offer that came.”

“I remember.” He nodded. “My mom was protective of my privacy. I think after my first night back she didn’t want any memory of the island to haunt me again.”

“Yeah well Daniel had always thought you were his ticket to getting a Pulitzer.” She let out a sigh. “He tried to look for all sorts of ways to get on your radar but always hit a dead end.”

Felicity paused, looking down. This very memory of those last few months she and Daniel were together coming back in waves. They weren’t pleasant in the least.

“And then you started dropping by my office.” A small smile played on her lips as she looked back up at him. “I didn’t tell Daniel at first, or at all for that matter. But he frequented Queen Consolidated since your return and he made friends with a few of my co-workers. And since you stopped by my office a lot, they took notice and told Daniel.”

“And he was jealous?” he asked her.

She let out a snort. “Not exactly.” Then her smile turned bitter. “He was ecstatic, actually.”

Oliver looked at her, confused. “What?”

“He thought my new friendship with Oliver Queen, it would be easy for me to sway you for an interview with him.” she scowled. “He didn’t even ask how we became friends in the first place, he just saw it as an opportunity for him.”

Oliver drew himself closer, noting the distress in her tone as went on.

“I refused. I told him it would be wrong to force you into something you clearly didn’t want. Besides, you and I exactly weren’t that close of friends.” She said. “He fought and argued with me, claiming that you were only looking for the best offer to sell your story, but with my influence I could get him the interview. He started to become unhinged about it. When I kept refusing, he then brought out the argument that I was probably cheating on him with you and that was why I was so defensive of you.”

Oliver had to let go of her hand so he can ball it into a fist. She noticed him retreating and immediately grabbed a hold of him again. His fist continued to clench, but her hands covered it, rubbing soothing circles on his balled fist with her thumbs.

“That was not fair of him.” he said in a dangerously low voice.

Felicity had felt his entire body going tense. She wrapped both of her arms around him, letting go of his fists, pulling him closer and felt happy that his body started to relax in hers.

“I know.” She said softly. “It was the last straw for me, too. I had realized we weren’t working out. It was clear he was more into his career than actual human empathy, and our relationship for that matter, so we ended it. I ended it. ”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” His entire body had softened and completely melt himself in her embrace. His palms opening to hold on to her back.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“But still, I don’t like the thought that you were hurt.” He said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

Felicity smiled. “It’s fine like I told you, I had things to distract me. Besides, it made me realize just how…insignificant our relationship had been.”

“What do you mean? I thought you guys were together for a long time.”

“We were.” She drew him closer as she took in a deep breath. “Daniel and I were together for three years, but I realize we were never really serious. I mean, how can I even say we were serious when I would looked forward to the days when he would go away on an assignment rather than want him to stay?”

She looked up at him, planting her chin on his chest. Her lips only inches away from his as his head was looking down at her. “You and I have only been officially together for three months and this is already the most serious and meaningful relationship of my life. The most important one; the one that I never want to let go and don’t plan on letting go. My relationship with Daniel didn’t even come close to the relationship we have now.”

Oliver couldn’t contain himself and closed the distance between their lips. His arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her body closer to his. It was a lot to take in.

In the past couple of months they've been together, he’d been constantly overwhelmed at his love for her. He still couldn’t believe that she felt this way, that she actually agreed to be with him. He has been in love with her for so long, and at the same time, he’d been so afraid to let that feeling out knowing there was a consequence to it.

But now he is free to love her and the fact that she feels the same, he still couldn’t believe it sometimes.

The two pulled back, both feeling breathless from their kiss. They didn’t pull too far apart. Their foreheads rested against each other and their nose just touching as elated smiles played on their lips.

“I love you.” He said in a whisper.

“I love you, too.” The grin on their faces grew.

“And thank you.” He continued.

“What for?”

“For protecting me even back then.” He said. “For always being on my side.”

“No place I’d rather be.”

**Author's Note:**

> In my original draft, Daniel was meant to be Edward Raymond, as per comic book canon he is Felicity Smoak's husband, thus the only other man/name I could imagine her being with that wasn't mentioned in the show. But I didn't really want this to be comic book canon, plus now I can't stop picturing the fact that in the old comics, Felicity is Ronnie Raymond's step mother. 
> 
> I'd like to think that Felicity had relationships in the past other than Cooper. She has been living in Starling for about 2 years before Oliver came back from the dead, she'd at least been out on a couple of dates. 
> 
> I also started writing this last year with an intent to continue this with a second part, but when I started to think about the potential of that story, it kind of exploded on me and it would definitely be more than a oneshot, which I cannot handle to write at the moment. So I'm gonna wait it out a little and see if I can manage to get that story out some other way.


End file.
